


Between Minds and Magic

by Cadensuplita



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Developing an OC for later works, Gen, Lots of dialogue, OC, Voltron Druids, practice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-16 08:54:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11249805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cadensuplita/pseuds/Cadensuplita
Summary: Team Voltron receives a distress signal from a nearby planet, but they are surprised by what they find.





	1. The Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> The setting is before the final fight with Zarkon. Nothing is based off of any Voltron incarnations but Legendary Defenders.

               “Paladins, we’ve received a distress signal from a nearby planet, we’re en route,” Allura announced.

               “Copy that,” Shiro responded.

               Pidge checked the co-ordinates, “It looks like it’s not a very dangerous planet. There are no signs of life.”

               Hunk suggested, “Crash landing maybe?”

               “The signal doesn’t seem to have come from any ship that I know about,” Allura said while swiping through various screens.

               “We’ll just have to find out then. Are we landing the castle or taking the lions?” Shiro said.

               Pidge responded, “Lions. The surface is too mountainous to land the castle.”

 

* * *

 

              

               The paladins stepped out of their lions on a barren and rocky landscape. Ruins of an unusual black ship were strewn about, and the only piece intact was the cockpit with its nose pointed towards the sky.

               Shiro yelled, “Hello? We received your distress signal.”

               A masked and hooded figure stepped out from behind one of the larger pieces of rubble, “And the paladins of Voltron are the ones who received my signal, how ironic.”

               “A druid!” Keith shouted.

               Shiro unhesitantly bounded forward and slashed at him. Faster than the human eye, the man disappeared in a flash of smoke and pushed Shiro on to his back.

               “Stop it!” The man peeled back his hood and removed his mask. “I was a druid, how observant of you to notice.” He said mockingly as he crushed his six-eyed mask into dust with just his hand.

               This awarded a number of uneasy noises from the paladins, and an awestruck ‘ooo’ from Hunk.

               “Wow, I didn’t even know if these guys were human,” Hunk paused, “Well not human, but uh – you know – Galran.”

               The Galran’s face was strong jawed and characteristically fuzzy. He had long and pointed ears adorned with rows of golden rings and other metal charms. His eyes were lighter than the typical Galran yellow and his hair was also atypically longer and sporadically braided, as opposed to the military-oriented styles the paladins were used to. Glimmering behind his parted mouth were long and pointed canines. His features followed the standard feline similarities classic to the Galra.

               He followed his previous statement, “’Was’ is the key word here. I’ve defected.”

               Shiro voiced his concerned, “This is a trap.” Keith offered an affirmative noise.

               The Galran spoke, “This is an awful trap then. You should’ve died the moment you stepped out of your lions.”

               “Even if he isn’t defected, if he really is stranded, then we can’t just leave him here,” Pidge said, “There’s no water or food on this planet. He’ll die in a week.”

               “I’m not asking for anything more than a ride.”

               “Allura won’t let this fly,” Lance said.

               “I have information that you will like.”

               Shiro looked around at the group, “I’d hate to say it, but we know nothing about the druids, we need the information he has. We won’t get any other opportunities to learn how they operate.”

               “That’s true,” affirmed Hunk.

               “You may restrain me if it makes you more comfortable.”

               “Couldn’t you just teleport out of the handcuffs?” Lance questioned.

               “Not if they are intergalactic security standard, which I assume yours are.”

               “I’m notifying Allura,” Shiro said as he pressed a button on his helmet, “Allura, the distress signal came from a Galran.”

               “A Galran?”

               “A druid.”

               “A druid! Are you alright, did you defeat him? Do you need backup?”

               “No, we’re fine. He says he’s defected. His ship has broken down and he needs transport. He’s willing to let us restrain him.”

               Allura let out a defiant puff of air, “Shiro, absolutely not!”

               “He says he has information that we need”

               “We are not taking such obvious bait!”

               “Princess, this is the only chance we have to get information on the druids. We have to take the risk.”

               “Err, you’re right. We need to find out Haggar’s weaknesses. But, you MUST take the upmost caution, send someone to get the cuffs.”

               “Great. Oh, and are our restraints intergalactic security standard?”

               “Yes,” Allura ended the communication.

               Shiro announced to the team, “Alright we have the go ahead. Lance fly back the castle and get the restraints. The rest of the team stay here and watch him. We’ll get him to the castle when Lance returns.”


	2. A Chat With The Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk is assigned to close quarters with the mysterious prisoner, and strikes up a conversation.

               “Hunk you have guard duty while I go discuss this with Allura and check on some other things.” Shiro commanded.

               “Why am I always the one who gets the boring jobs!” Hunk protested, “And he’s scary!”

              Shiro gave a scoff, "You'll be fine, Hunk." And the door closed behind him

               The shackled man spoke, “I appreciate that.” Hunk turned to him, and he commanded eye contact, “For the protectors of the galaxy you all awfully lack hospitality. You didn’t even ask my name.”

               Hunk noted his deep and smooth voice, and the spectral hum that seemed to echo in his throat as he spoke. Intimidated, Hunk responded, “ Y-yeah well, we don’t like being nice to the enemy.”

               He exhaled softly before speaking again, “I appreciate skepticism, but I assure you I am your enemy no longer.”

               “S-so what is your name then?”

               “Xerok, thank you for asking,” Xerok paused briefly, intensifying his stare, “Hunk.”

               “Wait, how did you- Oh, oh right Shiro said it like 5 times.”

               This elicited a throaty chuckle from Xerok, “I understand you enjoy cooking, correct?”

               “O-okay now, how did you know _that_? Wait? Did you just call me fat?”

               “No. The druids have kept tabs on you five since Voltron was formed. I know quite a bit about all of you. Also, one of my prime duties as a druid was to observe and interpret with accuracy.” He directed his gaze towards Hunk’s hand, “I can tell by how your middle finger is calloused that you keep a journal, is that correct?”

               Hunk was slow to respond, “Yes…”

               Xerok scoffed, “I used to enjoy cooking before I began serving Zarkon.”

               “Really?” Hunk eyes lit up, “Why did you stop enjoying it?”

               “I’m afraid Druids do not get much personal time to preform things like that.”

               “Awww, that’s so sad. Well, you know, you probably would still enjoy it. What is Galran food like?”

               “I’m afraid I don’t think I can make an accurate description to you without knowing what human food is like to compare it to.”

               Hunks face shifted to an exaggerated disappointment, “Well, I don’t know how long we have until we drop you off, but if I have enough time, I’d be able to show you some.”

               “I would appreciate that.”

               An uneasy period of silence began permeating the small holding cell. Hunks minds raced to find a topic to discuss. Xerok’s gaze remained fixed on him while he began resting his back on the wall. Hunk averted his eyes to the ceiling, then to the floor, then at the door.

               Hunk finally thought of something, “You know I’ve never seen a female Galran, how come?” Hunk’s gaze hovered above Xerok’s head.

               “It’s very rare to see a female in the military,” He responded calmly, “Most of them are on colonized planets raising children. However, there are many druids who are female.”

               “That’s gross. You’d think a 10,000 year old empire would have progressed a little. I guess I shouldn’t expect more from a person like Zarkon.”

               “I agree. My mother could’ve out preformed 10 of the level 3 personnel, and easily could have topped most of the commanders.”

               Hunk broke a small smile, “So uh – How do you do the magic stuff? Like you know, all the black and purple lightning?”

               “Most of it is cybernetics, but it requires immense amounts of skill and intellect to learn how to not kill yourself with it, so it’s not viable except for a select few.”

               “So… its just technology?”

               His voice got intense, “No, it is not. It is the closest thing to magic that has ever been handled by living creatures. Raw quintessence and raw force of will alone are responsible for what we can do, the engineering behind it is responsible for very little besides simply enabling us.” Hunk let out a meek ‘oh’. Xerok tried to let out a reassuring sigh, “I’m not trying to persecute you. Your friend Shiro’s arm is a good example. You’ve seen what it can do. The power behind that arm is beyond engineering, not the strongest metal in existence could allow an object as blunt as an arm to cut as cleanly as he can. It is magic, in absence of a better word.”

               The realization dawned on Hunk, “Wait so Shiro has been using the same magic as the druids this whole time?!’

               Hunk’s sudden enthusiasm did not catch on in Xerok’s voice, “Yes.”

               “Are you going to tell him that?”

               “You will anyways, won’t you?”

               “Well, yeah.”

               The whir of decompressed air sounded as the door opened. Lance stood in the arch, “Shiro is being held up, so he told me to take a shift watching the prisoner.”

               “Oh okay,” Hunk started exchanging positions with lance, “His name is Xerok by the way.” The door then shut and Lance turned his head from the closed door to the Galran with a skeptical look.


	3. Fidgeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance hates silence.

“How did you get so friendly with Hunk, huh?” Lance began his interrogation.

“We talked,” Xerok responded with his unchanging voice.

“Just talked? I don’t buy it. What did you do to Hunk? Did you use some kind of voodoo magic to brainwash him?” Lance’s tone had gone up one full octave.

“N-“

“Well listen here buddy boy! Your fancy voodoo magic is NOT gonna work on me, you hear! So, you can just keep to yourself, okay?” He was not amused by Lance’s accusations, and donned an unwavering face and turned his stare to the crack between the doors. “Yeah, that’s right. Mind your own business.”

The room was silent except for Xerok’s meditative breathing. It did not take long for Lance to become a mixture of uncomfortable and bored. Lance surreptitiously snuck looks at the man, but he never looked back, and kept a squinting contemplation directed at the door. Lance folded his arms and began tapping his bicep with his finger.

“Okay look, maybe you didn’t use voodoo magic on Hunk, you don’t have to stay like one hundred percent silent. I said that expecting some kind of resistance, you know?” He waited for Xerok to turn and respond, but he didn’t. “Okay, okay I’m sorry. You don’t have to ignore me.” Once again, he got no response. “Oh I see, you think you’re some kind of hot stuff yeah? I guess Galra empire folk are too good to speak to humans,” Lance resumed his prior presumptuous tone, “I got some news for you! You are not special. We’ve beat you guys dozens of times, and we’re going to keep doing it until we win! So, you can take your ‘Holier than thou’ attitude and shove it right up your – “

The Galran snapped into attention with a moment of wide eyes, “You were speaking to me? Oh, I’m sorry. I – drifted off.”

Lance gave a confused grimace and stood back upright, “You didn’t hear any of that?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Well, I didn’t say much anyways,” Lance said while he recrossed his arms.

“No really, I apologize. Sometimes I can just,” Xerok paused to choose his next word, “lose focus.”

“Sounds like it’s not a very good trait for a druid to have, you sure you didn’t get kicked out of the army?” Lance smirked to himself.

Xerok’s monotone voice did not waver at the comment, “My life would be a lot simpler if that were true.”

In a moment of childlike shame, Lance realized the dark implications of the response and went silent. The painful moments of tension in the air that passed were only tightened by the deep and audible breaths of the Galran. Lance fidgeted with the lining of his pockets and looked for any distraction in the room. The moment of saving grace fulfilled through the opening of the door could not come soon enough for him.

Luckily, his tested patients was rewarded when the door withdrew revealing Shiro’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly got pretty bored of this chapter, not a lot of ways to develop Xerok through it, but it left some hints.


End file.
